This is the second week of early voting in Georgia’s January 5 Senate runoff. Voting this week and next will be cut short because of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
The number of Georgians who have cast ballots so far in the runoff is down by about 100,000 compared to the same point in the general election, according to GeorgiaVotes.com. Still, turnout is strong, with more than 1.4 million ballots cast statewide as of December 20.
In-person voting is up. Absentee voting is down.
In Habersham County, nearly 23% of the county’s 28,776 active registered voters had already cast ballots by December 18, when the first week of early voting ended. There were twice as many in-person voters (4,202) as absentee voters (2,301).
White County election officials report steady turnout in their early voting precinct, with around 500 people voting each day. And in Hall County, officials say about 10 percent of the registered voters cast ballots last week.
Don’t game the system
(Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder)
Plagued by the Trump campaign’s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in Georgia, state election officials are working to instill confidence in how the runoff is managed. On Monday, the Secretary of State’s Office sent letters to 8,000 individuals who requested absentee ballots despite having filed change of address notices with the U.S. Postal Service indicating they currently live out of state.
“I have said many times that I will not tolerate out of state voters attempting to undermine the integrity of the vote in Georgia,” says Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “Let this be a warning to anyone looking to come to Georgia temporarily to cast a ballot in the runoffs or anyone who has established residence in another state but thinks they can game the system: We will find you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
In the letters, recipients were reminded that unqualified voters who cast ballots commit a felony under Georgia law. Anyone found guilty could face significant jail time and/or a hefty fine.
It is possible some of those absentee ballot requests were legitimate, says Raffensperger. Georgia law allows voters who are temporarily out of state to request absentees, such as college students and military members.
